1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording device that records on a recording medium and that cuts the recording medium, to a control method that controls a recording device, and to a program that controls a recording device.
2. Related Art
Recording devices used in point-of-sale (POS) systems are commonly used in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other retailers. The recording devices typically have a recording head that prints on roll paper or other recording medium and a cutter for cutting the printed recording medium in order to print and issue a receipt. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2008-210097.
In order to not waste recording media as a result of the recording head and the cutter being separated from each other, a recording device with a cutter such as taught in JP-A-2008-210097 may also print by means of the recording head on a trailing portion of the recording medium between the recording head and the cutter when the printed portion is cut off. In this situation, conveying and printing on the recording medium stop (pause) while the medium is cut, and then resume after the recording medium is cut. As a result of printing stopping and then starting again, a band of white space may be formed widthwise to the recording medium, that is, perpendicularly to a media transportation direction, at the position where the recording medium was stopped. The white space detracts from print quality because it is conspicuous even though it is may be extremely narrow. The white space results from a shift in the relative positions of the recording head and the recording medium when conveyance of the recording medium pauses and when it resumes. This cannot be easily eliminated and is primarily due to shifting caused by backlash in gears of the transportation mechanism and elastic deformation of rubber members such as a platen, and the effect of tension applied to the recording medium during cutting. Avoiding such white space is thus a difficult problem.